What The Heck Was That Beer Again?

In the world of beer, there are so many different versions of water, grain, hops, and yeast that it would make most peoples' heads spin. While the following list is large and in depth, it still doesn't cover every style and variation on that style that centuries of brewers have come up with in their brewing rooms. What it does give is a basic set of explanations and definitions that will help you navigate the shelves at the store and the taps at your favorite beer joint. We offer nearly all of our beers as a single bottle selection, so you can take the opportunity to try one before you commit to a whole six pack. That way if you don't care for it, you don't have to try to get rid of five more beers you hate. Happy beer hunting!Styles of BeerAbbey Ales - Abbey Ale is a collective term for beers that emulate the styles of Trappist beers. Since there are only eight Trappist breweries (See Trappist Ale), many other non-monastic breweries wanted to make similar styles. They could be non-Trappist monasteries, a brewery with a contract with a monastery, and breweries with a defunct or fictitious Abbey name. This can be confusing, but if you don't see Trappist on the label, it's only an Abbey. And there are some fantastic Abbey Ales out there. Brother Thelonious and OmmegangAle - Ale is the oldest type of production brew. It goes through a warm temperature fermentation called top fermentation. After the ale yeast is done eating sugar which turns the wort (pre-alcohol beer) into alcohol and carbon dioxide, it floats to the top of the vat leaving behind various taste characteristics specific to that yeast. While the top fermentation idea is still used in some smaller breweries and home breweries, the bigger breweries have developed newer methods to get the same results. Ales usually have a stronger flavor and higher alcohol content than it's cousin Lager.

Amber Ale / Red Ale - Amber Ale is a form of Pale Ale that uses a darker roasted barley to bring out more of a copper or light brown color. They have a light, subtle malty flavor and they have a bitterness range similar to Pale Ale in that it could be mild to super hoppy. Murphy's Irish Red Ale and Point Amber AleBarley Wine - This is another heavy, strong ale. Usually brewed for the winter months, Barley Wine is almost black in color, rich in flavor and heavily hopped. Sometimes fermented with both ale yeast and Champagne yeast, this gives the beer a high alcohol content of up to 15%, and IBU rating up to 90, and an aroma of aged wine. Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot and Avery Hog Heaven

Bier de Garde - Meaning "Beer for Keeping", these are strong ales that were traditionally made in farmhouses across France and Belgium. They were brewed in the winter and early spring because the yeasts were more stable than in the summer. They are usually golden to light copper color and nicely hopped. Often the beer maker used whatever grains were readily available in the area, but producers now have special recipes using grains from anywhere. Choc SignatureBlack Beer / Schwartz Bier - This is the darkest of the beers in the lager family. The dark colors come from the type of roasted barley used in the beer. The range of black beers can be nearly sweet and malty to crisp, dry and bitter. It's always good to experiment with this style to find one you will like. Shiner Bohemian Black and Kostritzer Black Lager

Blonde Ale - These beers were originally brewed in the style of a Belgian Golden Ale. They were meant to transition beer drinkers from the mass quantity American Lagers into a more refined craft beer. They are slightly hopped and have a crisp finish. Most have a hint of malty sweetness to them, but some can be brewed fairly dry.

Bock - Bock is a Lager style that is most often brewed with rich dark barley and light aromatic hops. Similar to Black Lagers, they are dark but not thick and bitter like a stout can be. Bocks tend to have a creamy finish and taste of sweet malt and almonds. These are not to be confused with Double Bocks which are denser and hoppier. Shiner Bock and Erdinger Pikantus BockBrown Ale - Brown Ale comes in a wide array of colors and flavors. It all depends on what the brewer has in mind for the finished product. Most Browns are sweet and malty if they hail from England and drier and hoppier from Belgium or the U.S. They both have slight caramel flavors due to the roasting level of the grains used. Newcastle Brown Ale (Malty) and Avery Ellie's Brown Ale (Hoppy)

Champagne Beer - These are fairly rare these days, but they're still out there. Champagne beers are finished similar to Champagne. They are brewed as usual, but they go through a second fermentation inside the bottle which gives them smaller, softer bubble like Champagne while keeping the flavor and style of beer.

Cider - Alcohol beverages made entirely from fruit are called cider. Most ciders are made from apples or have a high apple juice content but there are also pear, raspberry, apricot and others. The range of sweetness in ciders varies as much as the producers themselves. Some are crisp and dry with little aftertaste and some are sweet and rich with a lingering aftertaste. Nearly all ciders are naturally gluten free but there are a few that supplement the fruit juice with malt extract to sweeten them up. This adds the gluten. Strongbow (Dry) and Woodchuck with 5 different flavors

Common Beer /Steam Beer - Steam beer is in a category all its own. It is a beer that uses lager yeast, which is usually used in cold fermentation but it is brewed at warm ale temperatures. This gives the beer a unique flavor that is rich like an ale, but lighter like a lager. They are usually given a healthy dose of hops for the crisp clean finish. Anchor Steam

Cream Ale - Even though the name has Ale in it, Cream Ales fall under the Lager umbrella. However, they can be a little more complicated than just a pale Lager. Sometimes the brewer blends an Ale and a Lager together to make a smooth and lightweight beer. Sometimes they ferment it like an ale in warm conditions, then move it to a cold fermentation vat and run Lager yeast for a second fermentation. Genesee and Little Kings

Cream Stout / Milk Stout - These are beers that are dark, almost black beers. They are called Milk, Cream, or Sweet Stouts because of the use of Lactose, a sugar derived from milk. This imparts a creamy texture, a sweeter taste, and a coffee with cream flavor. Left Hand and Samuel Adams

Dry Beer - Dry beer is what results when a beer's yeast consumes all the sugars in the beer. Most beers retain a portion of the sugars that grains provide. With dry beers, there is no sugar left. This gives the beer a sharp, almost tart taste with no aftertaste. Dry beers are refreshing and perfect if you're eating light foods like fish, vegetables and sushi. Asahi Super Dry

Dry Stout / Irish Stout - These beers were perfected in the Irish breweries. They are black in color, thick in texture and have a heavy roasted coffee flavor. The alcohol content and crisp aftertaste put these into the category of light Stout. But in this instance, that's like saying I own a light elephant. It's still pretty heavy! Guinness and Murphy's

Double Bock / Dopplebock / Dubbel - A Dubbel or Double Bock is an ale that is allowed to go through a second fermentation, sometimes in the brewery and sometimes in the bottle. They are usually richly malted and are brown to dark brown with a fairly low hop content. Candy sugar is used during the second fermentation to strengthen the brew and raise the alcohol level to over 6%ABV. Paulaner's Salvator and Ayinger Celebrator

Dunkel / Dunkelweizen - This is a wheat beer that uses darker roasting on the kernels to get a beer that is dark brown and has flavors of malt, toast and a slight citrus finish. Warsteiner and Hofbrau

ESB / Extra Special Bitter - This term came from England's long history of brewing. At it's simplest level, ESB is a pale ale. Keep in mind that Pale Ale refers to taste and not color. The word Bitter began to be used to differentiate the beer that the Brits call the best beer in the world and the beers that had unnoticeable hops in them. They are darker beers more often than not and have a nice roasted malty flavor and a crisp hop finish. Fuller's and Redhook

Farmhouse Ale - Another name for Saison, Farmhouse Ale is a light refreshing beer that can be slightly fruity and/or spicy depending on the brewer's vision for the beer. They are usually around 7% ABV though originally they were much lower in alcohol since it was given to the farm workers during the hot summer months.

Golden Ale - A couple of other names you might see instead of Golden Ale are Blonde Ale and Kolsch, but they all mean pretty much the same thing. Golden Ale is a lighter style beer both in color and taste. They are well balanced meaning the malt and the hops aren't fighting to see who wins with the taste buds. They have a crisp citrus taste with a slight sweetness and a clean finish. They're generally not too hoppy, but unfortunately some brewers like to up the hop content since they are hop heads. So be sure to find out the IBU rating before you dive into one.

Gluten Free Beer - These beers are just what you might imagine; there isn't any gluten in them. Gluten, or glycoprotein, is the compound found in grains like wheat and barley. Some people's bodies react adversely to them causing all kinds of side effects. Some grains like rice and sorghum have been used successfully to brew Gluten Free Beer. Also some breweries have developed a gluten removal process. however, some people with more acute celiac disease still can have a reaction to the de-glutenized beer. Widmer Brother's Omission and Bard's Sorghum

Hefeweizen (Hef-eh-wyzen) - See Wheat Beer

Helles (HELL-us) - Originally brewed in Bavaria, these beers, sometimes called Pale Lagers, are what American brewers like Bud, Miller and Coors based their beers on. From Bavaria, it spread to what is now the Czech Republic and has been called Pilsner there since the mid-1800's. Americans starting their breweries looked for a simple recipe that was crisp, refreshing and not too hoppy. They didn't need to look further than their German heritage and the Helles brews.

Ice Beer - The brewing process for Ice Beer is the same as any other beer up to a point. The difference comes at the end of fermentation when the beer's temperature is dropped below freezing. The water that's left in the beer freezes leaving a denser, higher alcohol beer. The result of the freezing is a concentrated flavor and a drier crisp aftertaste. Molson Ice and Genesee Ice

India Pale Ale / IPA - This great beer has a great story. When the British occupied India, the soldiers still wanted English ale. The problem was the beer spoiled on its long journey from the island to Asia. They added a lot of extra hops because hops also act as a natural preservative. Their thought was they would water the beer down when they reached their destination. It turned out that the soldiers liked the beer just as it was without watering it down. This super hopped up beer became known as India Pale Ale. Sierra Nevada's Torpedo and Bridgeport IPA.

Imperial IPA - What do you get when you double the hop content of an IPA? A Double IPA, a.k.a. an Imperial IPA. Leave it up to an American to think that IPA just wasn't hoppy enough. Often credited to Vinnie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing, these beers make use a lot of American hops that give it a sharp, citrus and herbal flavor. They are often upward of 7% ABV and well over 60 on the IBU scale.

Imperial Stout - These are the strongest in the Stout family. It was first brewed by the English brewery Thrale's in the latter part of the 18th Century and carried the name Imperial Stout and Russian Imperial Stout. The Russian part was because it was sent to the court of Catherine II of Russia who loved the dark brew. The brewery changed hands and dropped the Russian aspect of the name, but it would later be revived when another owner took over the brewery. These beers are black, dense, high in alcohol (9%+) and heavily hopped.North Coast's Old Rasputin and Courage

Irish Stout - See Dry Stout

Lager - Lagers are bottom fermenting brews meaning that when the yeast is done turning sugar in to alcohol and carbon dioxide, it floats to the bottom of the vat. Lagers are fermented in colder conditions than ales which gives them a brighter, crisper taste. Because of the naturally light qualities of Lager, most brewers don't add a large number of hops to the beer, again making it smoother, lighter and cleaner.Lambic - True Lambic beers are only from Belgium because they are fermented from natural yeasts that are in the air around the breweries. Most beer is sealed up to protect it from random yeast, but Lambics are the opposite. They are brewed with barley and wheat with fruit added after initial fermentation.The fruit is strained leaving a sweet refreshing beer.A secondary fermentation to carbonate the beer happens in the bottle so there is usually a bit of sediment at the bottom. Lindeman's Peche and FramboiseMarzen - The official beer of Oktoberfest is Marzen, also called Oktoberfestbier. At the celebration in Germany, they are usually a blonde color and meet the laws of Reinheitsgebot. They are well balanced with sweet malt and crisp hops complimenting each other in a smooth beer that is around 6%ABV. The beers used to be brewed in March and allowed to slow ferment through the summer months to be enjoyed at the fall festival. With modern brewing techniques, the long slow ferment is no longer a requirement, but the taste is the same. Oktoberfest beers that are exported to the U.S. are usually a little darker, but they are just as evenly balanced as the brews served in Munich.

Malt Liquor - These are a light body beer usually a Pilsner style that is altered to produce a higher alcohol content. Other sweet grains like corn, rice and even straight sugar are added during fermentation that significantly boost the level of alcohol. Even with the added sugar in the beginning, the beer comes out crisp, lightly hopped and not sweet at all. Mickey's and Carlsberg ElephantMilk Stout / Cream Stout - See Cream Stout

Oatmeal Stout - Oatmeal Stouts are fairly rare these days, but there are still some fantastic examples out there. The main reason it had fallen out of favor is oats can impart an astringent taste if not used in the right amounts. In the proper quantities, the oats lend a big portion of protein giving the brew a thick feel and a smooth, creamy finish. Samuel Smith

Oktoberfest Beer - See Marzen

Pale Ale - This classic beer style originated in England and has spread to breweries all over the world. The word pale is not a description of the color, but of the flavor. This means Pale Ales can be golden, rosy, and even brown. Pale simply signifies that the beer is lightly flavored with a sharp hop taste and a clean finish. You will notice a difference in style between a traditional English Pale and and American Pale. A lot of American breweries have upped the hop content to near IPA status. While this is great for some beer drinkers, it's off putting to others that like it a little smoother. Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale and Bass Pale Ale

Pilsner - Pilsner, or Pils to its friends, is a very pale medium alcohol beer that is usually dry, aromatic, and slightly bitter. Pils falls under the Lager umbrella since it is cold fermented. It has been produced in the Czech Republic for nearly 800 years, but the American version has become the top selling style of beer thanks to the Bud-Miller-Coors conglomerates. For traditional Pilsners, try Pilsner Urquell and Bavik.

Porter - One story about this beer is that Porter was a blend of a pub's ale, beer and a strong beer called twopenny. It was sold inexpensively to the porters that worked in the nearby shipyards. I think the actual story is that many breweries made outstanding strong beers that were dark, hoppy, high in alcohol and cheap which was why they were so popular with the working stiffs. Blending the three doesn't seem like something a tavern owner would take the time to do without the price going up and out of range for the workers. There were beers called Extra Porter and Stout Porter which evolved into what we call Stout today. Porters are dark, creamy ales with robust hops and hints of coffee, cream and even chocolate. Santa Fe's State Penn Porter and Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter

Quadruple Ale / Quadrupel- Created by monks and copied by many breweries, these ales go through the fermentation process four times. This creates the richest, strongest, and most complex flavors. They are red brown to dark brown in color and have a creamy texture. Typically they are very malty with a background taste of toast, fruits and chocolate with a heavy alcohol content of 10% or more. Boulevard's Sixth Glass and Sierra Nevada's Oliva

Russian Imperial Stout - See Imperial StoutSaison (say-ZAWN) - These are similar to both Farmhouse Ales and Bier de Garde. All three of these styles were originally brewed on farms for the families and field workers. Made with local ingredients like grains and herbs, they really reflected the region in which they were made and were often lower in alcohol. Since there has been a resurgence of the style in the U.S., there is less focus on local produce and more focus on good recipes with a higher alcohol content. Greenflash and Saison Dupont

Scotch Ale - This is the kilted cousin of Pale Ale. To make Scotch Whiskey, the grains are roasted over a fire fueled by peat moss. This imparts a peat and smoke flavor that is unique to Scottish spirits. The same process happens with the grains for Scotch Ale. What it adds to the beer's flavor is a toasty flavor with the faint taste of the peat smoke. They are usually stronger beers, up to 7%ABV, dark in color and have a bittersweet taste.They can also be called Edinburgh Strong Ale, Wee Heavy, Scottish Ale, or Whisky Ale.Sorghum Beer - Sorghum Beers are fairly rare in the U.S., but if you find one, they are a good alternative style brew. The sorghum is made into a gruel-like mash that is often combined with corn and rice and allowed to sour before the actual fermentation happens. This causes the beer to have a slight raisin and cider flavor to it and they generally have a nice smooth finish. Another perk is Sorghum is gluten free. Lake Front's New Grist and Bard's Sorghum Ale

Steam Beer/Common Beer - Steam beer is in a category all its own. It is a beer that uses lager yeast, which is usually used in cold fermentation but it is brewed at warm ale temperatures. This gives the beer a unique flavor that is rich like an ale, but lighter like a lager. They are usually given a healthy dose of hops for the crisp clean finish. Anchor Steam

Stout - An ale that owes its origins to the taverns around shipyards and industrial areas in Great Britain. Originally, breweries made Porter beers, then variations like Extra Porter, Double Porter and Stout Porter which was later changed to just Stout. These black beers are nicely hopped and have a nice variety of styles. Most stouts have the rich taste of coffee and cream with some having hints of chocolate, toffee, almonds, and even whiskey. See the differences below.

-- Dry or Irish Stout - These beers were perfected in Irish breweries so they have been dubbed Irish Stout. They are black in color, thick in texture and have a heavy roasted coffee flavor. The alcohol content and crisp aftertaste put these into the category of light Stout. But in this instance, that's like saying I own a light elephant. It's still pretty heavy! Guinness and Murphy's

-- Imperial Stout - These are the strongest in the Stout family. It was first brewed by the English brewery Thrale's in the latter part of the 18th Century and carried the name Imperial Stout and Russian Imperial Stout. The Russian part was because it was sent to the court of Catherine II of Russia who loved the dark brew. The brewery changed hands and dropped the Russian aspect of the name, but it would later be revived when another owner took over the brewery. These beers are black, dense, high in alcohol (9%+) and heavily hopped. North Coast's Old Rasputin and Courage

-- Oatmeal Stout - Oatmeal Stouts are fairly rare these days, but there are still some fantastic examples out there. The main reason it had fallen out of favor is oats can impart an astringent taste if not used in the right amounts. In the proper quantities, the oats lend a big portion of protein giving the brew a thick feel and a smooth, creamy finish. Samuel Smith

-- Milk/Sweet/Cream Stout - These are beers that are dark, almost black beers. They are called Milk, Cream, or Sweet Stouts because of the use of Lactose, a sugar derived from milk. This imparts a creamy texture, a sweeter taste, and a coffee with cream flavor. Left Hand and Samuel Adams

Trappist Ale - For a beer to be classified as a Trappist, there are a few criteria that it must meet. The beer must be made in a monastery, the monks must play a role in the production of the beer and the policies of the brewery, and the profits from the beer must be used to support either the monastery or one of their social programs. There are currently only eight Trappist breweries. The six Belgian Trappists are Chimay, Rochefort, Achel, Orval, Westmalle, Westvleteren

Triple Ale / Trippel - Originally created by the monks at Westmalle Abbey, Triples are ales that have gone though a third fermentation and usually turn out a golden or light amber color. The biggest difference between the Triples and the other Belgian ale is Triples generally use more hops. This gives them the distinct floral aroma gained from heavy hop content.

Wheat Beer - Weissbier, Hefeweizen, Dunkel, Dunkelweizen, Gose, Lambic, Wit, White Ale, and plain old Wheat Beer are all different styles of Wheat Beer. The difference depends on how dark the wheat was roasted before the brewing process begins. If it is roasted very little, the grain makes very light colored beer that is usually unfiltered to retain more of the wheat flavor. There are also brews that use darker roasted wheat and they come out copper to dark brown in color and have a toasty flavor. They are most often referred to as Dunkel. Paulaner Hefeweizen and Pyramid Hefeweizen

White Ale / Wit - Made mostly of wheat, these beers and ales are lightly tart and mellow with the subtle taste of citrus peel that gives it a hint of sweetness. Most recipes include some oats for body, coriander for spice, and orange zests to enhance the natural citrus flavor. They spend a little extra time on the yeast so they develop a cloudy appearance. Hoegaarden and Blue Moon

Winter Warmer - When you're in need of a nice thick beer to warm the cockles of your heart on a cold night, turn to a Winter Warmer. Sometimes called English Strong Ale or Christmas Beer, these brews are dense, sweet and dark. They are brewed with dark malts to a deep copper or dark brown, but they are kept sweet unlike Stout and Porter. Brewers often add spices like nutmeg, cinnamon and clove to Winter Warmers. This gives them a slight mulled beer taste. Another reason it is a Warmer is the alcohol content can be anywhere from 6% to 10% ABV. Just the right amount to deal with all of those relatives that come over for the holidays.

Other Important Beer Definitions

ABV (Alcohol By Volume) - Alcohol by volume is simply a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in an alcohol beverage. Nearly all beer falls in between 4.2% and 6.0%, however there are a multitude of craft beers that soar far above the 6.0% standard. Another exception to the rule in the opposite direction is low calorie beers and Lambic beers which can clock in at a mere 2.3%. A couple of states like Oklahoma still require a 3.2% version of some beers.

Adjunct - A beer's recipe is pretty basic; grain, water, hops and yeast. Anything beyond those four ingredients can be thought of as an Adjunct or additive not usually meant for that beer. For example, if a brewer is making a wheat beer, most of the grain is wheat. If they add barley, the barley is considered the adjunct. Adjuncts can be grains, fruits, honey, berries and whatever else the brewer can dream up. Barley - One of the many grains that is used to make the beer we all love.

Bitterness - This is the result of adding hops to beer during and/or after the fermentation process. The greater the amount of hops added, the greater the bitterness levels. There are bitter alpha acids within the hop flower that are released in the beer during boiling.

Body - Body is a term that basically refers to the density of a beer or wine. When comparing two beers like Lone Star and Guinness, Lone Star has a lighter body style and Guinness is a heavier body style beer. Also, if you drink too much beer, you will get a heavier body style. :)

Bomber - This is what most brewers call a 22 ounce bottle. I have no idea why and searching the internet proves that no one else does either.

Bottle Fermentation - When you buy an expensive beer and you pour it into the glass, it looks nice and tasty until the last tiny bit of beer drops into the glass. You think you saw something gross, but it disappeared into your glass. That little bit is the result of Bottle Fermentation. Before the cap is put on the bottle at the brewery, a small amount of sugar or wort is added to reactivate the yeast that is snoozing in the beer. This causes the beer to become naturally carbonated. The dregs are simply the yeast cells that have eaten themselves to death. There is no harm in pouring the whole thing in and enjoying it.

Brewing - This can be a long process if a brewer is starting from scratch. Home brewers have the opportunity to cut out a few of these steps, but for big brewers, there is only this process. From beginning to end the process of brewing is Malting, Mashing, Lautering, Boiling, Fermenting, Conditioning, and Bottling. Malting is preparing the grain to be fermented by opening the kernels to expose the starches within the grain. Mashing is turning grain and water into a boiling porridge that releases starches from the grain turning them into sugar. The result of this is a sweet young beer called Wort (wert). Lautering is the separation of the grains from the Wort. The Wort is then moved into the next vat where the Hops and other Adjuncts are added and Boiled to the brewer's specifications. The hops are strained off and the Wort is aerated and cooled to a temperature that will not kill the yeast cells that will be added the Wort and turn it into beer. Once it is Fermented, it is Conditioned or simply bubbles are added. After Conditioning, the beer is bottled and labeled.

Cask Conditioning - A rarely used method of beer conditioning and delivery is Cask Conditioned. They are unfiltered and unpasteurized, sent through a second fermentation inside the cask, and served directly from the cask. They are either gravity fed taps or pumped using a hand pump called a beer engine.

Contract Brewing - The idea behind Contract Brewing is simple. A small brewery that can't afford all of the equipment to brew large quantities of beer will rent a section of a big brewery to do the job. The host brewery usually has a brewer that is familiar with the equipment to do most of the work for the smaller brewery. The small brewery provides the ingredients, recipe, bottles, labels, and the rent. Contract Brewing happens far more often than you might imagine.

Craft Brewery / Microbrewery - When a brewery is not pumping out millions of gallons of beer every year, it's safe to say that they are a Craft Brewery. The actual volume designation varies, but if the bottles don't say Bud, Miller or Coors, there is a strong possibility it is a Craft Beer. Of the over 2,400 breweries in America, 98% of them are considered Microbreweries. These breweries usually focus more on unique flavors and specialty beers rather than mass quantity. The idea of Craft Brewing started in the U.K. and the idea, like the British Empire, quickly spread to the rest of the world. In Oregon and Washington alone, there are over 300 Microbreweries serving the Pacific Northwest.

Draught Beer / Draft Beer - Pronounced the same, this is the term for a beer that is served directly from a keg rather than a bottle. The one method that brewers like Guinness can bottle a Draught Beer is to add a small nitrogen capsule to their cans called a widget. When the can is opened, the widget releases nitro into the beer causing it to foam up as if it were being drawn out of a tap at the pub. Guinness's bottles have moved away from the widget, instead employing the use of cellulose fibers on the inside of the bottle. This keeps the taste without having the little widget clanging around. It is still a mislabel to call it a Draught since it didn't come directly out of a cask, but we won't hold that against Guinness.

Esters - These are the subtle smells and flavors that are present in beer, wine, and liquor. You can read endless lists of all the esters that experts and "experts" can taste in a beer or wine.

Fermentation - During brewing, one of the stages is fermenting. This is when the wort is cooled and oxygen and yeast are added. The yeast eats through all of the sugars that are present in the Wort. Once all of the yeast has eaten all it can, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide in the process, it is often harvested to start a new batch of yeast for the next brew. If the yeast doesn't perform its job, the beer stays a sweet, syrupy non-alcohol beverage.

Growler - A bottle that is 64 oz of beer is called a Growler. They often have a handle like old whiskey jugs. They are sometimes used as a special release for a brewery or used for home brewing.

Head - When a beer is poured into a glass, the carbon dioxide that is pent up in the bottle is released as it is being poured. The foam on top of the liquid is the head.

Home Brewing - Thanks to Jimmy Carter and Senator Alan Cranston in 1978, Americans were legally allowed to brew beer for personal use without the threat of being taxed or fined for it. Since then, many people have taken to the hobby of Home Brewing. There is a Home Brewers Association that has festivals and forums for people to get the most out of brewing beer for home consumption. The legal limit for home brewing varies from state to state, but the general rule is 100 gallons per person of legal drinking age in the house per year. Home brewing bans were lifted in England in 1963 and in Australian in 1972. In a lot of other countries, it has always been legal.

Hops - These wonderful little flower cones are the reason beer has any bitterness. Hops two contributions to beer is the bitterness and aroma. Within the hop cone, there are alpha and beta acids. The alpha acids are what is released in the beer to give it bitter qualities. The beta acids don't contribute much to the bitterness, but they are where the aroma of citrus and herbs come from. Both contribute to the flavor of a beer. Some of the flavors are citrus, herbs, pine, spice, and grass. There are dozens of strains of Hops from all over the world. Different Hops impart different levels of bitterness and different aromas. This is an extremely important aspect of brewing beer. Finding the right set of Hops to use with the right set of Malts is why brewers spend years studying them. They are also the reason the International Bitterness Unit (IBU) scale was developed.

Dry Hopping - Hops are kind of a fragile plant. They can go bad and decompose very quickly if they are not dried in an oast house or hop kiln to stabilize them. Using hops during the boil is one way to extract all the goodness from hops. Another method is when a beer has been sent through the boiler and has cooled down, sometimes brewers add a batch of new hops to the beer. Since boiling is the only way to get the bitter alpha acids out of the hops, this hopping method only extracts the aromatic beta acids. This gives the beer subtle hints of the hop's characteristics without adding any more bitterness to the finished beer.

Fresh / Wet Hopping - This is a rare method of hopping a beer since the hops are so easily tainted. This involves using hops that are fresh off of the vine and haven't been dried in the kiln. This method imparts different flavors that some beer experts call a green effect. Or simply the beer has more of a tangy, spicy, floral flavor. Sierra Nevada has spearheaded an effort to introduce Wet Hopped beers to the beer world.

Noble Hops - These refer to European strains of hops that have low bitterness levels and high aroma levels. They are Hallertau, Tettnanger, Spalt, and Saaz. They are often used in Pilsner and Oktoberfestbier.

IBU (International Bitterness Unit) - This is the number associated with the alpha-acids that come from the hops used in all beer. Beers with less than an IBU of 12 have little apparent hop presence. An IBU between 15 and 45 is the most common range in beer. There are some IPA's that easily rated an IBU of 50 to 60 and some double or extra IPA's that can top the 100 IBU mark. The highest recorded hop content so far is 2,500. That's two thousand five hundred!!

Lacing - When you pour a beer into a glass...I should say IF you pour a beer into a glass, the beer foams up leaving a head of bubbles on the top of the liquid. When the head settles, you can see the imprint of it on the sides of the glass that resembles lace. If the imprint isn't noticeable or very light, it is said to have poor lacing. If you can definitely see where the head used to be, then it is considered to have good lacing. The only reason this is important is for beer experts to have another term to use to make them feel like their review of a beer is somehow more intellectual.

Malt - Malt is any grain that has been germinated, or allowed to sprout. Once the kernel has sprouted and the tough hull is broken, the grains are dried again. This produces the enzymes required to turn the starches into sugars which are vital to brewing.

Mouth-feel - What comparison comes to mind when a beer is swishing around in you mouth? That is Mouth-Feel. It can be watery, milky, syrupy and all points in between.

Oktoberfest - Even though there are hundreds of Oktoberfest celebrations around the world, the main party is in Munich, Germany. It is a tradition that pays homage to the celebration at the wedding of Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese in 1810. There are only 6 breweries that are allowed to participate in the annual festival. Spaten, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Augustiner-Brau, Lowenbrau, and Hofbrau-Munchen all contribute their Oktoberfest beer to the event. The beer must adhere to the Reinheitsgebot law and must be brewed in Munich. Also, the term Oktoberfest is a trademarked name of the Club of Munich Brewers.

Reinheitsgebot (RHYNE-hytz-ge-boat) - In English, this translates to German Purity Law or Bavarian Purity Law. It was a law introduced by the Roman Empire. The law stated that the beer should only be made with the three ingredients Water, Barley, and Hops. In 1487, it was amended by the Duke of Bavaria, Albert IV to state the recipe is Water, Malt and Hops. Yeast had not been discovered at the time of writing the law so it is not included in the list. If a brewer was caught using ingredients other than these, all of their beer would be destroyed and they would be fined. In order for a beer to be served at Oktoberfest, it must follow this law.

Sorghum - This is a grain that can be blended with other grains to impart a richer grain flavor. It can also be used exclusively to brew a Gluten Free beer.

Trappist - For a beer to be classified as a Trappist, there are a few criteria that it must meet. The beer must be made in a monastery, the monks must play a role in the production of the beer and the policies of the brewery, and the profits from the beer must be used to support either the monastery or one of their social programs. There are currently only eight Trappist breweries. The six Belgian Trappists are Chimay, Rochefort, Achel, Orval, Westmalle, Westvleteren

Wort - Beer before it is beer is called Wort or Young Beer. During the brewing process, before hops are added, grains or malt syrup are boiled to extract the sugars and starches to make a sweet liquid that will eventually be converted into an alcohol beverage by adding yeast. The sweet pre-beer is called Wort.

Yeast - There are hundreds of strains of yeast in the world. Some of the best ones are used to make beer. Yeast is a single cell organism whose main purpose in brewing is to convert sugar into alcohol. When yeast cells are released into the Wort, they begin eating sugar and converting it into ethanol. The crude analogy that the awesome Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head Brewery has used is yeast eats and eats the sugars in the Wort. It then poops alcohol and farts carbon dioxide. So enjoy your beer now!Zymurgy - This is the term used for the workings of fermentation. Zymology is the study of Zymurgy. Many brewers that plan to work for large breweries must go through this training to become master brewers.